


Deeper Than a Knife

by WithTheKeyIsKing



Category: Arrow (TV 2012), The Flash (TV 2014)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Alternate Universe - Soulmates, Canon Temporary Character Death, F/M, Friendship/Love, M/M, Season/Series 01, Season/Series 03, Soulmate-Identifying Marks
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-12-14
Updated: 2015-12-15
Packaged: 2018-05-06 10:36:28
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 2
Words: 6,990
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5413628
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/WithTheKeyIsKing/pseuds/WithTheKeyIsKing
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>When Barry Allen went to Starling City for a job, he never expected to meet Oliver Queen, or find out he was the Arrow. He definitely didn't expect to find out they were soulmates</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

Barry held his magazine over his head to keep the rain from hitting him as he stepped off the train. He glanced at his watch when he got onto the platform, cursing silently as he realized he was late. The young scientist started jogging, pulling his wheeled suitcase along behind him. He ran to the curb, waving at a taxi that pulled away as soon as he stepped close to it. The rain was starting to come down hard, and then a car drove by and sprayed water all over him.

As soon as he got to the Queen Consolidated Applied Sciences Division, he set his suitcasewhich was carrying everything he thought he'd need for the jobdown and grabbed his tablet, looking through all the information that the police had already acquired. He went to approach where the lead detective was talking to a tall, broad, blonde man, a blonde woman, and a black man, as well as one of the techs. The tech said that they only got one guy on screen, and that the others must have come in after the camera cut off.

"Actually, it was just one man," Barry called out, going over to them with a smile when they turned. "Sorry I'm late. Actually, my train was. Well, the second one was, I actually did miss the first one, but that was my cabdriver's fault. I've got this great traffic app..." Barry's smile fell a bit at the five different people's incredulous and doubting looks. "He thought he was right..." Again he paused, a little bit unsure of himself with _Oliver Queen_ (who was quite attractive in person) looking at him with something intense and confused. "But I'm here now, though."

"Great," the lead detectiveBarry thought his name was Lancesaid sarcastically. "Who the hell are you?"

"And do your parents know that you're here?" Oliver Queen quipped seriously.

Barry glanced between them; it hurt a bit, to be discredited immediately because of his age, but he was used to it. "I'm Barry Allen," he started pulling his badge out of his pocket. "I'm from the Central City Police Department, I'm with the Crime Scene Investigation Unit..." Mr. Queen looked like he had just been hit by a very large train for some reason, and Detective Lance just looked at his badge dubiously. "We're working on a case with some similar unexplained incidents, so when report of your break-in came over the wire my captain sent me up here." Barry smiled again, looking at Mr. Queen, who was staring very intensely at him. His smile faltered.

"So you're saying that one guy ripped through this door like it was tinfoil," Detective Lance said dubiously.

Barry nodded. "One _very_ strong guy, yeah," when they continued to just stare at him, he glanced down at his tablet. "Uh, it takes about twelve-hundred-and-fifty foot pounds of torque to break someone's neck. You see the marks on the guard's neck?" He pulled up the image on his tablet, showing it to them. "The bruising pattern suggests the killer used only one hand...I'm guessing you don't know how hard it is to break someone's neck," Barry added with a grin, trying to tease the blonde man into being happier.

Oliver looked up, surprise and discomfort flitting across his face before settling onto a blank expression. "Hm? No. No idea." Barry nodded slightly, confused at why the other man had looked like a deer in headlights for a moment, before someone else spoke and drew Barry's attention away.

"Uh, we're going to need an entire inventory list to figure out exactly what was stolen," another police officer said, coming up behind them and addressing his question to Oliver.

"Actually, I think I know what was stolen," Barry piped up. Oliver Queen turned back to face him, still examining him so intensely, and Barry took a deep breath. "A centrifuge. An industrial centrifuge. Probably the cord enterprises 2BX 900; maybe the sixth series," Barry began leading the group through the warehouse. "Both have a three-column base..."

* * *

When Oliver was six years old, he had experienced a very intense pain on the inside of his wrist. He'd been playing soccer at the time, with Tommy and some other boys he went to school with, and he hadn't been able to do anything except yell and cry as black words appeared on the inside of his wrist.

He'd known what it meant, of course. They'd learned about Soulmates and Soulmarks in class earlier that year, and most kids had had their parents explain it to them earlier when they got their marks. The reason Oliver had been so surprised was very simple; most people were born with their Soulmarks, or received them in the first year of their lifeSoulmarks always appeared when your Soulmate was born. By the time Oliver was four, and all his friends had some words on some part of their body and he still didn't, he'd given up. He just figured that he didn't have a Soulmate, that he was part of that strange .003% of the population that just didn't have someone meant for them.

But then there he was, six years old and playing soccer, and two little words were staring back up at him in a rushed black scrawl. Soulmarks came in many different forms; some people just got matching symbols, some got each other's first words to each other, but others, the lucky bunch, got an actual name. And, apparently, Oliver was a part of that group, for the name _Bartholomew Allen_ was printed in an incredibly pure black and in handwriting that seemed like it had been written in a hurry. It told him a bit about his Soulmate, too; it was believed that the way your Soulmark was written was the way your Soulmate wrote. So, his Soulmate was in a hurry. His little six year old brain decided that _Bartholomew Allen_ Oliver decided to call him Barry; it felt rightwas rushing towards him.

Now, twenty-three years later, Oliver was standing in his Applied Sciences Division, and there was this adorkable man who introduced himself as _Barry Allen,_ and Oliver's heart just about stopped. John had looked at him in surprise (Oliver had been drunk enough one night to tell John about his Soulmark) and then joy. Oliver gave him a look and Dig quickly schooled his expression into something more seriousthey were at a crime scene, after all.

The CEO listened with rapt attention as _Barry Allen_ (Oliver still was having trouble wrapping his mind around the fact that he was looking at his _Soulmate)_ described why he thought that the attack had been by only one man, and how he knew what the man had stolen. Oliver couldn't help but feel slight pride at how incredibly _smart_ Barry was; he truly was putting all the other policemen in their place. He hadn't been able to keep himself from stiffening when Felicity had flirted with Barry, and was relieved when Barry didn't flirt back.

As soon as they were done there, Oliver went back to Queen Consolidated; he had a lot of things to think over. Now that the high of meeting his Soulmate had started to wear off, Oliver was afraid. What if Barry got hurt? What if someone found out about their connection and, in an attempt to hurt Oliver, hurt Barry instead? Getting involved with Barry would be a stupid idea while Oliver was the Arrowand Oliver didn't have plans to stop being the Arrow any time soon.

"Oliver," John called, pulling the vigilante from his thoughts and making him turn to meet his friend. "The CSI from Central City was rightthe only thing missing is the centrifuge," he paused, a small smile coming over his face. "So, he's your-"

"Guys!" Felicity called urgently, "you've got to see this. I pulled up traffic footage from across the street of Applied Sciences. This is three minutes after the alarm went off." The video showed a single man carrying a large item (probably an industrial centrifuge) and placing it into the back of a truck.

And then, quite suddenly, Oliver's plan to stay away from Barry Allen was thrown into the toilet. "Can we help you, Detective?" Oliver said politely as Barry Allen walked shyly into his office, looking slightly uncomfortable.

"Oh, CSIs aren't actually detectives," Barry corrected politely, with a small smile. "We don't even carry guns, just some plastic baggies," he chuckled at his own joke, grinning at all of them in a way that made Oliver's heart melt. "Uh, where should I set up my equipment?" Felicity said that she'd show him, and Oliver felt his chest tighten.

"What's going on?" He asked, his voice slightly on the panicky side.

Barry smiled that same disarming smile, and took a couple steps forward. "Um, your assistant said that you preferred to keep the investigation in-house, so I cleared it with my captain to give you a hand."

Oliver nodded slowly, then lightly took Felicity's arm in his hand and led her a few steps away, lowering his voice. "What are you doing?" He asked, recognizing and trying to control the shaky quality to his voice.

Felicity gave him a pitying look, which was something Oliver definitely did not ever want to see again. "We need to find this intruder, and he seems to know more about it than any of us. Forensic Science isn't exactly my forte, so..." She paused, then gave him a small smile. "I say we need him. Also, I see the way you're looking at him; you deserve to be happy, Oliver." Oliver definitely _did not_ sputter at her words, but eventually nodded his agreement. She beamed, and then turned to face Barry. "Come on, I'll show you around."

When they'd left, John turned to him with a serious expression. "Why do I get the feeling you know more about this than your new Soulmate?"

Oliver sighed, turning back to the window. "Pray I'm wrong."

* * *

Barry placed the sample from the footprint into the machine that would analyze it and told Felicity that it wouldn't take long; then he turned to the blonde woman with an excited smile. "So you've seen him, right?" He asked. "The Arrow? I read that he saved you. What was he like?" Felicity looked away, glancing down at the computer screen.

"Green," she said after a few moments.

 _"Green,"_ Barry murmured under his breath.

For as long as the Arrow had been doing his work, Barry had been a fan. He didn't know what it was, exactly, since he didn't particularly agree with the man's original method of killing people, but whenever he heard something about the hooded vigilante his heart skipped a beat and he felt a little happier, a little lighter. Iris had always joked that it was his body recognizing his Soulmate, and Barry liked to believe that, but he didn't know. Would he really get lucky enough to have a real life hero for a Soulmate?

"That's interesting, right?" Barry said, pulling Felicity's attention back to him. "I mean, why green? Black would be better for stealth and urban camouflage. Personally," he said with a shy smile, "I think he trained in some forest or jungle environment, and the green, it's a nod to that."

"I don't give the Vigilante much thought," Felicity said shortly.

Barry faltered, unsure of himself at her tone, but barreled on anyway; he was passionate about this subject. So, he went on to tell her about how the Arrow could have better penetration with a different type of arrow, and how he thought that the hero had partners, definitely someone with a history in computer sciences. When Felicity asked about why he was so interested in the hero, he sighed and told her about his mom, and his belief that a hero like the Arrow could've caught the man who did it. He even admitted the fact that he'd always felt connected to the other man.

When the machine beeped, he looked down at it. "Well, that's weird," he said with a small frown, "the soil, it has... _sugar_ in it."

 

Soon enough, Oliver Queen and his bodyguard were back, asking about what they found. Barry explained it quickly, telling about the sugar found in the soil from the guy's footprint, and Felicity explained about how she had found a sugar refinery that had land around it suffused with sugar waste, and that a truck had been stolen from there the other day. Barry added that the truck matched the make and model of the truck that the thief had used.

"Can you track the vehicle?" Oliver asked, and Barry couldn't help the way his eyes were drawn to the slightly-older man.

"We've been trying," Felicity replied. Suddenly, the computer beeped, and they all looked down at the screen. "You're not going to believe this, but the truck was just used to rob a blood bank," she said, clearly confused. "Our guy just made off with thirty CC's of o-negative."

His bodyguard made a joke about vampires. "We should take this to the police," Barry said hesitantly.

"I...will take care of that," Oliver replied, looking him over with a warm expression; that look from a stranger normally would've made Barry feel uncomfortable, but this time it just made him feel warmer. "You said that you were working a similar case in Central City?"

"Oh, uh, yeah," Barry said, hating that he hadn't planned for this line of questioning. "Very similar case, with similar markers and similar...things." Oliver looked at him dubiously, and then pulled his bodyguard a few feet away, leaning in close to him and saying something quietly. Barry didn't know where the spark of jealousy he was feeling came from, but it was definitely there. Suddenly Oliver turned and left. Barry sighed and tried very hard to ignore the small pain in his chest at the other man's exit.

 

Barry should probably have been more suspicious of how Felicity had gotten the perpetrator's blood, but he really wasn't the suspicious type. Plus, he was just too plain excited that the Arrow was working the same case that he was.

The implication that Felicity and Oliver were an item was more crushing than it should've been, especially when Barry had no real claim to Oliverat all. But that didn't stop the overwhelming relief he felt when Felicity says in no uncertain terms that her and Oliver weren't _her and Oliver._

* * *

Oliver felt betrayed. Barry had liedhis bosses didn't know he was in Starling City, and there was no similar case in Central City. Why had he lied? What did he have to gain? Was he somehow involved in the break-in, sent to see what they knew? But if that was the case then why help them?

He confronted Barry at Queen Consolidated, Felicity standing by looking like someone just kicked her puppy. Barry sighed and looked down, then began explaining. He talked about the blur that had come into his home when he was eleven; he told them about how no one believed him, thinking he was just covering for his father; he told them that he knew it was real, as real as the man who tore down a metal door with his bare hands.

Barry was so close, and hurting; it took everything it Oliver's power to not reach out and touch him, hold him through the tough conversation they were having. But, from what Oliver had observed, Barry didn't know they were Soulmates; he wouldn't take well to some strange man wrapping his arms around him.

Soon enough, Barry was gone, tears in his eyes after apologizing sincerely for lying to Oliver.

"He did lie about who he was," Oliver said to Felicity's disapproving look. She simply scoffed, voice slightly shaky. _'What do we do every day?'_ She was right.

 

Oliver sat in his room, staring at his phone. It hadn't been hard to find Barry Allen's cellphone number, not when he'd already found all the information on Barry, anyway. Now, he was just deciding whether or not to call the younger man.

On one hand, he really, _really_ wanted to; Barry Allen was his Soulmate, and even though he'd lied, Oliver lied on a day to day basis. But, on the other hand, pulling Barry into Oliver's world was dangerous; there were people _bad people_ that would always be after him. If any of them found out that Oliver was the Arrow, and that Barry was his Soulmate, Barry's life would immediately be at stake.

"Oh, hell with it," Oliver muttered under his breath, dialing the number. He waited with baited breath as it rang, and then finally someone picked up with a small _'hello?'_ "Oh, uh, hi. This is OliverOliver Queen."

There was a moment of silence, and then, _"Oh, hey, Oliver. Again I'm so sorry for lying to you; I never wanted to try and appear as something I'm not. I was already planning on leaving, if that was why you were calling-"_

"Barry," Oliver cut him off with a small smilehis Soulmate was just so adorable. "I wasn't calling to run you out of town. Actually, I was calling to...well, I wanted to invite you to my mother's party tonight. We're throwing one to celebrate her getting out of jail, and I needed a date, and I like you, Barry, so I was hoping you'd like to go. With me." The line was silent, causing Oliver to frown in worry. "Barry? I'm sorry, I didn't mean to imply, you probably don't like men like that-"

 _"No, no!"_ Barry jumped in quickly. _"No, Oliver, I was just surprised, really. I wouldwell, I would love to go to that party with you. A lot."_ The light laughter from the other man warmed Oliver's heart, and he smiled again.

"Great, that's great," Oliver replied breathlessly. "The party starts at seven, and you'll need a suit, if that's ok." At Barry's definitive yes, Oliver's smile grew. "Great, I guess I'll see you then...bye, Barry."

An hour and a half later Oliver was standing in his mostly empty living room, but he couldn't even feel that bad about it, because he was just too nervous about seeing Barry _his Soulmate_ again.

Suddenly, after a few minutes, he felt a tap on his shoulder. He turned around and his jaw dropped at the sight before himBarry looked _really good_ in a suit and tie. The other man was smiling nervously, hands shoved into his trouser pockets. "Hey," he said shyly. "You look amazing."

"Hey," Oliver replied with a smile of his own. "And trust me, no matter how good I look, you look a thousand times better." Barry's answering smile was blinding and took Oliver's breath away; he realized right there that he would do anything to keep that smile on Barry's face. "Would you like to dance with me?"

Barry looked very unsure for a second, and when Oliver went to tell him he didn't have to, Barry chuckled. "My fatal flaw, dancing! You'll definitely have to lead." Then the younger man took Oliver's hand and lead him into the middle of the floor, placing them in the typical dancing position. A few couple glanced at them, but it was nothing neweveryone was well aware that Oliver was bisexual.

After about a minute of comfortable silence, Oliver caught Barry's eye. "You know," he said conspiratorially, his smile teasing, "I think they're going to card you at the bar."

Barry laughed, shoving his shoulder lightly and then placing his hand back in Oliver's. "Oh shut up, I'm twenty-three!"

Oliver smiled down at him. "I know," he said softly. Barry's eyebrows creased in confusion, but his smile was still there. Oliver elaborated. "I was six when I got my Soulmark. I'm twenty-nine now. Do you want to know what it says?"

Barry had frozen in Oliver's arms, mouth opening in surprise. Suddenly he looked very unsure, but nodded, so Oliver let go of him and pulled his sleeve up slightly on his left wrist, just enough so that the small and messy black words were visible. _Bartholomew Allen._ Barry's breath caught in his throat and he stared at the words _his name_ in wonder. Then he pulled his own sleeve up, same wrist. Staring back at him with a very simple sentence. _'_ _And do your parents know that you're here?'_ stared back at him in Oliver's neat handwriting.

"I didn'twell, I had never really wanted to believe in the whole Soulmate thing; I wanted to be able to pick my own destiny. So when I met you I didn't even realize that you'd said my words," Barry said, expression full of awe as he stared into Oliver's eyes. "But it's you, isn't it? It's you, and this feeling in me...it's nothing I've ever felt before," he laughed slightly. "Now I realize why Soulmates are real. Because now that I've met you, even though I've only _just_ met you, I can't imagine you not in my life."

Oliver couldn't help himselfhe leaned forward and captured Barry's lips in a kiss. It was hesitant and chaste, but it was nice, and it felt so very _right._ When they both pulled away, they grinned at each other.

* * *

Being shot with a dart was really not fun. Waking up in the _Arrow Cave_ and finding out his _Soulmate_  was _the Arrow,_ however, was incredibly awesome. The part about Oliver getting worse and worse by the second was definitely not on the good side of things.

Barry jumped into action when the machine connected to monitor Oliver's heart started beeping erratically. Immediately he thought of four possible diagnosis; checking his pupil dilation he narrowed it down to three. He examined Oliver's breathing patterns and narrowed it even further to two. He grabbed a syringe and inserted it into a vein on Oliver's arm, pulling on the plunger to draw some blood.

"Got it," he said in relief when he pulled the needle out of his Soulmate's arm. "He's suffering from Intravenous Coagulationhis blood is unnaturally clotting, it's like maple syrup." When Felicity asked if he could save him, for a moment Barry was filled with doubt; could he really do this? But he snapped back into himself, knowing Oliver needed him right then. "Lucky you guys have a rat problem," Barry muttered as he grabbed the rat poison laying in the corner.

"Are you kidding? That'll kill him!" Diggle yelled angrily, still doing chest compressions.

"He dies if I don't!" Barry yelled back. He finished the solution and ran back to Oliver's side. "Ok, just the right amount of this stuff will thin his blood enough to get it circulating again."

A few minutes later Oliver's heartbeat was back to it's regular rate, and his blood seemed to be circulating in the way it was supposed to be. Which was very good, but Barry was still incredibly worried. Suddenly Oliver sat up with a gasp, gulping in air.

"Hey, hey, hey, Oliver! It's ok, Oliver, you're ok," Barry said soothingly, rushing back to his Soulmate's side. "You were injected with a strong blood coagulant; luckily you had rat poison hereit includes warfarin, which is a natural blood thinner. Also, your team had the sense to kidnap me, so thank them more than me."

Oliver stared at Barry in wonder, hand coming up to cup Barry's cheek, which made the young forensic scientist smile. He leaned forward and they shared a small kiss, which had Barry's smile growing. "Thank you," Oliver breathed when they broke apart. Then he glanced around, as if realizing where they were. "So...you know." Barry nodded sheepishly. "And...you're not running for the hills?"

Barry laughed, squeezing Oliver's hand. "No, Oliver, I'm not. And I never will. I kind of always had a crush on the Arrow, anyway, so it's probably better that you're him or we'd have a serious issue." Oliver laughed at Barry's teasing, but was stopped from replying when his phone beeped.

Oliver sighed. "I have to go home." He winced as he stood up, but nodded to Barry to say that he was ok. "I'm going to get changed," he leaned forward and kissed Barry again. "I will see you later, okay?" Barry nodded, and Oliver left.

Barry's life had gotten much more interesting.

 

Barry got to Central City too late to join the line to go see the Particle Accelerator open, so he decided to head in to work to finish up some reports he'd missed over the last couple of days. As he got to the precinct he called Oliver, smiling when the other man picked up. _"_ _Did you make it in time?"_ He asked.

The young scientist smiled at the sound of his Soulmate's voice. "I got back in time, just not in time to see it in person. I'm at my lab now. Oh! I left you something. I hope you like it."

 _"I bet I will,"_ Oliver replied; Barry could practically hear his own smile. _"I'll talk to you tomorrow; bye Barry."_

"Bye, Ollie," Barry said back. Oliver laughed at the nickname, and then they both hung up.

Barry turned on the news and listened to the newscaster talk about the Particle Accelerator, frowning when the news turned from good to bad very fastthey were trying to shut the Accelerator down, it was malfunctioning. Suddenly the power went off as an explosion occurred. Barry went to close the skylight all the way, but froze when the liquids in his lab started floating. He looked up and the last thing he saw was a bolt of lightning heading straight for him. He blacked out.


	2. Chapter 2

Oliver was a wreck. He'd seen the accident on the news the morning after it happened, and called Barry immediately. Of course, there'd been no answer. He called everyone he knew in Central City to try and get an idea of who had died, if Barry had been one of the many casualties from that night. No one knew anything, of course, the hospitals too swamped to speak to him and the police too busy to give any information.

After three days of constant worry, though, Oliver had had enough. He was reluctant to leave his team with everything that was going on, but they understood. His Soulmate was possibly in a lot of danger, maybe even dead. Oliver tried to hold on to the fact that Soulmates usually felt when their partner died, and he hadn't experienced the sudden heart-wrenching sorrow people described in those instances.

So Oliver hopped on a train, afraid and hopeful and so very worried.

When he arrived, he went to the first hotel he saw and checked in, tossing his bag onto the bed. Part of him really wanted to take a nap, but he knew that he was far too wound up to even try to rest. Instead, he hopped into a cab and instructed the driver to take him to the twenty-first police station; it was the one where Barry worked, so the others working there would be more likely to know what had happened to the young scientist.

"Excuse me," Oliver said with a polite smile when he entered the building, stopping a cop who was walking by. The policeman's head snapped up from the file in his hand, his expression tired and sad, and rose his eyebrows in question. He looked like he'd been through hell; like he'd lost someone. "A friend of mine works here, and I haven't been able to reach him since the Particle Accelerator exploded. I was hoping you could point me in the right direction. His name's Barry Allen."

The policeman's gaze, which had been split between Oliver and the file in his hand for the last few moments, snapped completely onto Oliver. He gave Oliver an appraising look, seeming suspicious and heartbroken all at once.

"My name's Joe West," the man introduced himself in a deep voice, "I'm Barry's foster father." Oliver's lips parted in surprise, and then he smiled, offering his hand to the policeman, who took it and they shook. "Barry was..." he sighed, "Barry was struck by the explosion." Oliver felt his heart drop out of his chest, and it must have shown on his face, because Joe West hurried to placate him. "Oh no, he's alive! He's alive, but he was struck by lightning. He's currently in a coma. He's coded at least ten times."

Oliver closed his eyes for a moment to collect himself; he, who was always in control of his emotions, felt tears come to his eyes. Barry was in a coma. A freaking _coma._ How could that have happened? They'd talked just that night, not even five minutes before the Particle Accelerator exploded. He should've asked Barry to stay an extra night, should've asked him to stay over and officially meet his mother. But Barry's boss had already been upset at him enough, and Oliver hadn't wanted Barry to get into any more trouble. So he'd let him go.

When Oliver opened his eyes again, Officer West was looking at him with a strange expression. "Would you please tell me which hospital he's in? I would really like to go visit Barry," Oliver said, hating how thick his voice was.

"You and Barry...you were close?" Officer West asked slowly, not wanting to imply anything. Oliver was hesitant to tell him; if Barry hadn't, then maybe he'd wanted to waitbut if Barry was going to be in a coma for a while, then Oliver was going to be seeing a lot of Officer Joe West, and vise versa. It was better the other man knew.

"We only met recently, actually, when he came to Star City," Oliver said with a small smile, remembering Barry's brilliant smile as he rambled about why he was late to the crime scene. "But we...well, we're Soulmates."

Officer West's mouth opened in surprise and his eyebrows shot up. He kept that surprised expression for a few moments before it softened, turning warm and welcoming. Officer West's head tilted slightly, and he smiled. "Then it's _very_ nice to meet you...what did you say your name was?"

Oliver couldn't help but smile back. "Oliver Queen; it's really great to meet you, too, Officer West. I know you took Barry in when he needed a family, and I really appreciate that."

Officer West's eyebrows rose once again when Oliver said his name, clearly recognizing it, but thankfully didn't comment. "Please, call me Joe. If Barry is as smitten with you as you clearly are with him, I have a feeling we will be seeing a lot more of each other." They both fell silent, but it was comfortable, both men thinking about Barry. "Now, I have a break coming up, I could take you to see Barry then, if you don't mind waiting a few minutes." Oliver said that he didn't and Joe nodded his thanks. "Great, I'll be back in a minute."

Five minutes later, which had Oliver pacing back and forth in the lobby of the police station, Joe reappeared, wearing a black coat over his suit and the same tired expression from before. He led Oliver out of the station and to his car. While they were driving, Joe expanded a bit on Barry's situation. "The doctors said that he was lucky to be alive; barely anyone ever survived being struck by lightning. They said that the coma is just his body trying to cope with everything going on. It kills me every time I see him just lying there, but I'd rather him be in a coma than dead. I think that Irismy daughter, Barry's best friendis with him now, so you can meet her."

They continued to talk about Barry for the rest of the drive, and soon they arrived at Central City General Hospital. Joe led Oliver through a few winding hallways until they reached a room in the ICU. Oliver stopped in his tracks when he saw Barry. The young scientist was lying in a typical hospital bed, an IV connected to his hand, a heart monitor connected to his chest. His eyes were closed and he looked peaceful; if Oliver didn't know any better, he'd think that Barry was just sleeping.

Sitting in a chair next to the bed, her back to where Oliver and Joe stood in the doorway, was a dark-skinned girl, who was most likely Iris, Joe's daughter. She was holding Barry's hand and making little sniffling sounds every few seconds, clearly crying. Oliver was suddenly very happy that Barry had people that cared about him, but it also made him incredibly sad; these people truly cared about Barry, and they were suffering just like Oliver was.

Oliver stepped further into the room, eyes never leaving Barry. Iris's head went up and then turned, looking at Oliver in surprise and then confusion. Her eyes were full of tears, her nose slightly red. When she saw Joe standing behind Oliver, some of the tension released from her shoulders. "Dad? Why is Oliver Queen in Barry's hospital room?"

The vigilante heard footsteps, alerting him to the fact that Joe was coming further into the room, but Oliver still didn't look away from Barry. He slowly moved forward, walking around the bed to the side that Iris wasn't sitting beside, and reached out. He paused right before touching Barry's hand, not wanting to risk doing anything to harm his Soulmate. Part of him knew that that was ridiculous, that him holding Barry's hand wouldn't break him, but another part of him saw Barry's condition as glass that could easily be broken.

"Iris, Oliver and Barry met a little while ago. They're Soulmates," Oliver heard Joe say. Iris gasped, and, out of the corner of his eye, Oliver saw her look from him to Barry and back again, eyes wide in wonder.

Slowly, cautiously, Oliver stroked Barry's cheek with the back of his hand. He was still warm, not cold. _Not dead._ He took Barry's hand and felt for his pulse with his index finger, not trusting the machine beeping in the corner of the room to tell him the truth. Oliver sighed in slightly relief when he felt the flutter of blood pumping through Barry's veins; his pulse was a little faster than normal, but it was nothing to be concerned over.

"Has he been like this since the lightning struck him?" Oliver asked, finally looking up from Barry's prone figure.

Joe nodded, looking at the other two men sadly. "Yeah; another officer found him soon after the explosion, having heard the crash from the lab. He was unconscious when they brought him in and hasn't woken up since."

Oliver sighed again but nodded his understanding. He then looked at Iris, who was clearly trying her hardest not to stare at Oliver. He gave her a small smile, knowing it didn't reach his eyes, and she returned it. "It's nice to meet you, Iris. It's clear that you care a lot about him, which means the world to me. I'm glad that he has you." A few tears spilled down her cheeks, and she made a small, weak sound like a whimper. Out of instinct Oliver went around to the other side of the bed, sat in the hair next to her and pulled her into a hug.

She let out a sob at this, but wrapped her arms around him as well. Oliver stroked her hair as she cried, glad that even though he was struggling greatly, that he could help someone else through the difficult time.

Over the next nine months Oliver visited Barry in the hospital at least once a week. He had wished to be there more often, (frankly, he never wanted to leave Barry's side) but with everything going on in Starling City, Oliver couldn't just up and leave his team to deal with everything happening with the Mirakuru soldiers. So whatever time he could spare was spent at his Soulmate's bedside.

Oliver got to know Joe and Iris West very well since they ended up spending a lot of time together. They welcomed him into their family with open arms, even inviting him to stay at their house when he was in town. He came to truly care about them, which scared him slightly; they could be two more pawns used against him. He tried not to think about that, though.

About four weeks after the Particle Accelerator exploded, Oliver was sitting with Barry in the hospital when a man in a wheelchair entered. Oliver recognized him from the article Barry had shown him; it was Dr. Harrison Wells, the man who invented the Particle Accelerator.

Oliver pushed himself to his feet, towering over Dr. Wells' sitting form. His hands balled into fists and his jaw tightened, anger shooting through him. This man was responsible for so much suffering, for _Barry's_ suffering, and that was something that Oliver could never be ok with, no matter how famous Dr. Harrison Wells was, and no matter how repentant the man seemed to be.

"Mr. Queen, I'm Harrison Wells, I wanted to talk to you about a possible opportunity for Barry," Dr. Wells began.

"I know who you are," Oliver replied coolly, "and I'm not interested in anything you have to say about Barry, unless it is a deeply compassionate apology, and even then I'd still want you to get the hell out of Barry's hospital room."

Dr. Wells' eyes narrowed slightly, but he smiled in what was supposed to be a calming manner; Oliver wasn't fooled. "Mr. Queen, I see that you're very _close_ to Mr. Allen, but since you are not his family, I think it would be better if I spoke to them about this opportunity, instead of you."

Oliver just smiled back. "Well, seeing as I'm Barry's _Soulmate,_ I do have a large amount of say in what happens in my Soulmate's care and treatment, and I don't think that letting you anywhere near Barry would be a good idea."

The shock that flitted across the scientist's face was totally worth the whole encounter, and Oliver considered the conversation a job well done. He wanted very badly for Harrison Wells to apologize profusely right then, say how sorry his was and then donate a whole bunch of money towards some worthy foundation, or maybe even towards Barry's care. But Oliver knew that Dr. Wells wouldn't give up so easily; there was something in the man that screamed predator, something sharp in his smile and dead in his eyes that made Oliver instantly wary of the man.

"Well, then I'm sorry for everything that has happened to your Soulmate, Mr. Queen. I can't even imagine how hard this is for you, but I have something that will make it easier," Oliver went to interrupt Dr. Wells, to say once more that he didn't want the scientist's help, but Dr. Wells continued continued on talking. "My facility is fully equipped to act as a hospital. I think that something is happening to Barrysomething not normaland that keeping him here in a regular hospital with people who don't know what's happening to him is just going to hurt him in the long run."

Oliver frowned, trying to understand what the older man was saying, and being very confused when he began to comprehend the words; did he mean magical? Oliver had come across magic in his travels, and he wasn't a fan. "What do you mean, exactly, by  _'not normal?'"_

Harrison Wells observed Oliver for a few moments, seeming to try and understand him, before answering. "I mean that I don't think that he's coding; I think that his heart is simply beating too fast for the machine to catch. I think that you've noticed some small things like maybe a large static shock when you touched him, or there was the appearance of Barry's body vibrating, but you explained it all away. I think that being hit by lightning and sent into a wall of chemicals caused Barry to gain powers. Maybe that is the reason he can move incredibly fast."

"The man in the lightning..." Oliver murmured under his breath, remembering the story Barry had told him about the night his mother had died. Louder, so that Dr. Wells could hear him, he said, "what could you do for Barry that the hospital couldn't?"

"For one thing, I have a team of people who are used to dealing with unusual cases," Harrison Wells began, "and two, I won't continue to hit him with considerable amounts of electricity every time he codes on the table, which had probably been hurting Barry more than helping him, by the way. And also, I've had...personal experience with the ultra-natural before. I won't freak out, and neither will my team."

Oliver examined the man sitting in front of him. Harrison Wells was clearly telling the truth about having the equipment and ability to take care of Barry, but Oliver was hesitant to agree. This was the man that had caused Barry's condition with the Particle Accelerator accident, and there was something... _off_ about him, something dark that Oliver really didn't trust. Then again, Barry wasn't getting any better, and if Dr. Wells was right about Barry having abilities, then the hospital using the defibrillator on him could be causing more harm than good. Dr. Wells and his team could possibly be Barry's only hope.

"I'll consider it," Oliver finally conceded, "after I talk to Joe and Iris West."

"That's all I ask, Mr. Queen," Dr. Wells said, "that's all I ask."


End file.
